staceysue

idtx2 - that is just what I needed! Look - they don't look miserable! She gets to read! They have KIDS there?! Hope I won't have to take care of injured kids - that would break my heart. Ohh - they hear gunfire DAILY - that's got to be stressful. I wonder how much time they spend - you know - under tables as bombs go off all around them etc. Anybody know? It sounds exciting but at the same time very scary.

Thanks, DIC. I know it's an honor but I don't know if I'm up for it.

Thanks, idtx2. Have you talked to anybody our age who's been deployed? I'd like to honestly know what it's like before I sign my life away.

I'm from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, actually, but I've heard it's pretty much the same in any economically depressed rural area. Thanks for the input. Now I'll just wait for that recruiter to call me back . . .

Sorry for all the questions but I want to get as much info as I can before I make my decision. I am unhappy in my position as a civilian nurse. It is a very rural, economically depressed area. There is no upward mobility, and the patients here are extremely disrespectful of the nurses. We're spat upon and cursed at, threatened, you name it - and if we stand up for ourselves we're expected to apologize. I assume that patients in military hospitals are expected to behave themselves better - but you know what they say about making assumptions. My husband, who is retired from the airforce, says that the sort of behavior I described above is not tolerated and that even the families of military members are more civil because they don't want to embarass their soldier. I wasn't married to him while he was in the airforce, and I have very little experience with the military. Is there anybody on here, with experience both as a civilian nurse and as a military nurse, who would be willing to compare the two experiences?

I just heard about the STRAP program today and was wondering if you all could clarify it for me. You start getting the stipend right away, right? Is it taxed? If I go to school full-time and also drill, will I get drill pay in addition to the STRAP? Then, when I'm done with school, what if I want to go full-time active duty? Do I have to fulfill my reserve commitment before I can go active duty? The reason I'm askig is that I'm almost 40 and want to get into active duty before I'm too old to be allowed in.

Thanks for the quick reply, Jeck. How does the reserve thing work? I do my 2 weekends a month and 2 weeks a year and get paid to go to school, right? Then I have to pay them back a year for every 6 months? Do I have to wait to start school or will they pay right away?

Hello I'm 40 and have my ADN and 10 years of critical care experience. I'd like to join the reserves, get my BSN paid for, and then go active duty Army. Is this possible?